Conservative Party (British political party)
*Excluding The Speaker. The Conservative and Unionist Party (more commonly known as the Conservative Party) is a centre right political party in the United Kingdom. Founded in its present form during the early 19th century, it has since been the principal centre-right party in the UK. History The Conservative Party's predecessor was the Tories, a name still used to this day. The Tories were dominant during the 17th century, while their opponents the Whigs dominated the 18th century until William Pitt became prime minister. In the 1830's the name 'conservative' was used to label the parties beliefs in free trade and opposition to state interference. In 1886, the Liberal Party was split over Ireland home rule and the Liberal Unionist Party was created. The Liberal Unionist Party became an ally to the Conservative Party and was fully absorbed by it in 1912, creating the full name of the Conservative and Unionist Party. While the party had been associated with the upper classes, in the 20th century working class votes became increasingly important. Winston Churchill, who led Britain to win WWII, became one of the Conservatives most recognisable prime ministers and was often hailed as a hero, however the party was shocked by a landslide victory by the Labour Party in 1945. Harold Macmillan became prime minister in 1957, but by 1964 the country was in a recession and so lost to Labour leader Harold Wilson. It was 1970 when Edward Heath grabbed a Conservative victory, however Labour once again took power in 1974. Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, took a landslide victory for the Tories in 1979. She privatised industries such as mining and took on the trade unions when they revolted. She was nicknamed The Iron Lady for her fierce determination. She won the battle for the Falkland Islands during her time as prime minister. Margaret's own party removed her from office and she was replaced by John Major. Major narrowly won a fourth election victory in a row for the Tories, but the party was increasingly split over Britain's place in Europe. He resigned the leadership in 1995 and won the leadership election. In 1997, the Conservatives faced a crushing defeat by Labour. Three leaders followed, William Hauge, Iain Duncan Smith and Michael Howard, but all were defeated by Tony Blair. Afterwards, David Cameron took over the leadership of the Conservative Party and their position in the polls steadily increased. In 2010, there was a hung parliament with the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. Then, in 2015, Cameron took a victory of 330 seats for the Tories. After the EU referendum, Cameron resigned as Prime Minister and leader of the party. Following a brief leadership election, all candidates besides Theresa May dropped out, and she became the leader and Prime Minister. In 2017, under a year after she first took office, she called a snap election. The result of this election is currently unknown as it has not happened yet. Category:Political Parties Category:United Kingdom Politics Category:Conservative Party